The "AVODAH" Website

Religious affiliations, practices, and beliefs can shape advocacy. The teachings in religious studies and preachers and whatnot tell the citizens of the religious following to do certain things to satisfy the way of the religion. In the AVODAH program, "Jews in their 20s [are recruited] from across North America to spend a year working on urban poverty issues as full-time employees in local non-profit organizations" (117). People of the same religion banded together to fight poverty. Not only did they band together to fight poverty directly, they banded together to make the program to fight.

Judaism usually has followers go on a mission to change the world and Mark Goodman states that he didn't understand how it all worked until he joined AVODAH and worked with a foster care agency. He started to learn how communities of people contribute to themselves and to others by helping each other and other communites out.

One example of how religious affiliations can shape advocacy is within both me and current classmate Tyler. We went through Catholic Confirmation together and our program required us to do 20 hours of community service. It shaped us and helped us to see that Catholics and Christians in general are out there to help others out and we really took a turn for the best when we went through the hours.